Will Be Used As Air Force One By President Trump After Modification

The Pentagon announced that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar that will be used by President Donald Trump after the Pentagon performs upgrades to include “proper security measures and functional mission requirements” according to a statement from the Department of Defense.

Sean Parnell, Chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement, “The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations. The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”

Parnell did not say whether the administration had paid for the aircraft and referred questions about the transfer to the U.S. Air Force.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, said that “this plane story is a Ministry of Defense to the Department of Defense transaction that is done in full transparency and very legally, and it is part of the cooperation that we have always been doing together for decades.”

Troy Meink, Secretary of the Air Force said. “The Secretary of Defense has directed the Air Force to basically start planning to modify the aircraft,” “We are postured to do that.”

A spokesperson for  the Air Force said that “as directed by the Secretary of Defense, the Air Force is preparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing 747 aircraft for executive airlift. Details related to the contract are classified.”

FMI:  www.af.mil/